Indian Embassy in Beijing calls off Republic Day ceremony amid Coronavirus outbreak

The Indian Embassy in China has cancelled the Republic Day ceremony after the growing concerns about the mysterious coronavirus outbreak which has already claimed more than 25 lives. The Embassy took to Twitter to inform about their decision and wished all the Indian expatriate community in China ‘a very happy Republic Day.’

According to the latest reports, over 25 people have died due to the coronavirus outbreak and over 800 cases have been detected. After the confirmation of human to human transmission of the virus, health authorities fear a possible global pandemic since the cause of the disease is yet to be detected.

Read: Indian Embassy Issues Advisory To Chinese Travellers As Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 25

Two cities under lockdown

China has already put two of its cities under lockdown to contain the spread of the disease. After public transport was restricted in Wuhan, the centre of the Coronavirus (CoV) outbreak, Huanggang is also being put under lockdown to rein in the spread of pneumonia. 

The Indian embassy in Beijing has also issued a travel advisory for people visiting India from China. The embassy said that travellers should avoid close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness. It also asked all travellers from China, especially from Wuhan city, to monitor their health closely. 

Read: Coronavirus Not Yet A Global Health Emergency: World Health Organisation

After an International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General had said that he was ‘very impressed’ by the detail and depth of China’s presentation. The Director-General stalled the decision on declaring it a public health emergency saying he will decide after appropriate consideration of all the evidence.

The Coronavirus is a new strain in the large family of coronaviruses (CoV) which was previously not identified in humans. CoV causes illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

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